Method and means for controlling the condensing action in the casting of iron rolls



Deco A. CROOK METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE CONDENSING ACTION IN THE CASTING OF IRON ROLLS Filed March 27, 1924 viz/"red 1 67 00% g 25 tour Patented Dec. 29, 1925;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED CROOK, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PHILADELPHIA ROLL & MACHINE COMPANY, OF PHILADELEHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- TION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE CONDENSING ACTION IN THE CASTING OF IRON ROLLS.

Application filed March 27, 1924. Serial No. 702,340.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, ALFRED Cuoou, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and I State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Means for Controlling the Con v (lensing Action in the Casting of Iron Rolls, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore, in the casting of rolls intended for rolling mills and the like, it has been the practice to employ iron forms or chills, commonly known as closing-inrings, which constitute a part of the mold ration of the carbon into the larger flakes making for a coarse grain. Closing-inrings and the like chills suifer the disadvantage that they have to be constructed to conform to the desired conof the rolls. Ordinarily, they are destroyed after an order is filled, and not infrequently because of distortion due to direct absorption of the heat of the casting, they are effective for not more than one or two casting operations, thus making it necessary to have spares on hand when a number of identical rolls is ordered at a time. Aside from the disadvantage of their short life, their proneness to distortion under ex- 5 pansion and contraction renders them uncertain as an element for controlling the character of the grain structure. At anyrate, their effect in establishing a condensed or close-grain structure is relatively fixed 0 and incapable of appreciable variation.

Objects of the present invention are to provide a method and means for controlling the condensing action in the casting of terrous metal structures, particularly rolls; to provide a controlling means of the nature indicated which shall be capable of considerable variation with respect to the range and character of the condensing action; to provide for accomplishing this by indirect K heat absorption, that is to say, through the intervention of controllable heat absorption media substantially insulated from physical contact with the casting; to provide a method and means of effecting desirable alterations of the grain structure in preselected areas of the casting, which consists lIl utilizing the enveloping sand in the preselected areas to abstract the heat of the casting and regulating the heat abstracting capacity of the sand by means extending beyond the mold'and controllable at will; to provide for variations in the range and character of the condensing action by variable adjustment of the heat absorption media which latter preferably includes a fluid circulating system; to provide for variations in the range and character of the condensing action by variable adjustment of the heat abstracting manifolds of the system as to cross-sectional area and as to their spacing from the casting and by regulating the velocity of fluid flow and the temperature of thefluid; to provide heat abstractingmeans which shall be substantially unaffected by the heat of the casting and therefore capable of use over and over again; and to provide heat abstracting units of the universal type, that is to say, units susceptible to ready adjustment for use with rolls widely varying in design.

In general, the method contemplates the arrangement of the fluid circulating units at varying distances from the molten metal; changes in the cross-sectional area of the units; acceleration or deceleration of fluid flow, as well as regulation of the temperature of the circulating fluid, whereby through one or more or all of such variations to control the rate of heat abstraction and thereby accurately govern the degree of hardness or the character of the grain structure in the preselected areas of the roll.

The means for carrying out the method may obviously include a variety of structures, such for example, as a system of manifolds of one or more sections of pipe embedded in the sand of the mold in spaced relation to and always out of contact with the casting, with the terminals of the manifolds extending beyond the mold to provide ,for forced ornatural circulation of the heat discharging fluid.

One embodiment of the invention is i1- lustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: I

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a sand mold culation. of the cooling with a rolLcatin'g in elevation, the units of the fluid circuit being shown in operative pdsition,

posed they form a substantially annularelement. In the flexibility of their con-. struction and arrangement they readily lend themselves to adjustment to vary the diameter of the annular element so as to accommodate different conditions or different designs of rolls. The manifolds -l are placed inthe sand -2 of the mold out of contact with the casting -3. Their terminals -4-- and 5 extend beyond the mold and are c onnected to valved service pipes 6 and .7, whereby to induce, naturally or under pressure, the cir medium which may be water, brine or ot er fluid. Evidently by acceleratin or decelerating the rate of fluid flow, 18%18213 loading and dischargin capacities of the fluid can be modlfie within desirable lim'its.

In practice the system abstracts heat from the sand in and about the preselected areas of the casting and by dischargin the heat of the sand insures a rapid Jan l uniform heat abstraction from the regions of the casting in the preselected areas. The effect of this, as is well-known is'to cause a close,- grain formation or hardening of the casting in' the preselected areas. j

It is to be noted" that "there is no metal contact with the casting, hence no chill, as such is understood. Furthermore, b disposing the coilsor manifolds at di erent distances from the casting; or by increasing or decreasing the size of the pipe; or by varying the flow of the cooling medium through the units, the degree of heat. abstraction, and hence the, degree of hardening may be controlled'with reasonable certainty.

The system described can be employed with rolls of widely varying design and since there is no direct contact with molten metal it follows that the life of the manifolds-is very little impaired by frequent use. The manifolds areas readily placed as the s and are less ex- Ha,v ing described thenature and objects iofgthe inven'tidn, I claim:

through the medium of the sand, and means comformable to varying types of rolls for discharging the heat abstracted by the sand and including relatively adjustable fluid circulating units and their service connections.

2. Means for effecting desirable -alterations of grain structure in preselected areas of roll castings, comprising, in combination, a sand mold organized to dissipate the heat of the casting. in the preselected areas through-the medium of the sand, and means comformable to varying types of rolls for discharging the heat abstracted by the sand and includin cooperatiiig mated fluid circulating manifolds with service connections extending beyond the mold.

3. Means for effectin desirable alterations in grain structure 1n preselected areas of a roll casting, comprisin in combination,

a sand mold, a plurality o mated fluid cir;

heat abstracting element] encircling the object and arranged in the sand, the manifolds being relatively adjustable.

6. A sand mold for circular objects, and independent fluid circulating manifolds arranged in mating pairs to encircle the object, means for circulating a cooling medium through such manifolds, the respective manifolds. of a" pair being independently adjustable with respect to the object.

7 -A sand mold for rolls, a coolingsmem- L ber arranged in the sand about predetermined areas of such roll, said member being made u of inde endently controlled fluidcirculating mani olds together conforming to the external shape of the predetermined area of the 011.

In testim ny whereof I afiix, my signa: ture. I

-- ALFRED cnooKy 

